An Interview With Nicole des Jardins
by Raine Lionheart
Summary: [Rama Revealed] An interview between myself and Nicole des Jardins. Written years ago for an English project.


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An Interview with Nicole de Jardins

Anthony Hart: Hi, and welcome to "Mind Talk". I'm Anthony. Today I am joined by Nicole de Jardins Wakefield. In case you haven't heard of her, she was the medical officer aboard the Newton in 2200. The Newton left Earth for Rama, the cylindrical titan from outer space. Nicole's, it's an honour.

Nicole de Jardins: Thank you Anthony.

In the beginning of your newest adventure, the new governor of New Eden, Toshio Nakamura, sentenced you to death, and you were confined to a prison, which you later on escaped from. You hid with Max Puckett, a family friend, for three weeks, and escaped under Lake Shakespeare, reunited with Richard Wakefield, you beloved husband, and lived in your old home under New York Island. Then, you helped your family escape from New Eden and then colonized in the Octospider City for almost a year. When the war broke out, you became a doctor for them. By that time, you were fluent in their colorful language, and were familiar to Octospider physiology. Near the end of the war, you saved a child, Maria, from the bombardment on the Octospider City. You later went into stasis _again, _for sixteen years, and woke up at a new Node near Tau Ceti. And you were separated from your son, Patrick's family just today. Nicole, I find this story absolutely remarkable. Just amazing.

NJ: Yes Anthony, it is amazing. People believe it to be poppycock. Ha! Poppycock. It was one of David Brown's favourite words. My God, it has been such a long time since I thought of the other Newton crew! I can still remember Francesca Sabatini, her perfection, her greed for fame. I almost pity her.

AH: Nicole, many people question the veracity of your story. I mean, a giant Node near the star Sirius, octopus-like spiders, and biological robots? This confused many people at first, until they experienced New Eden. How did you deal with this problem?

NJ: I had a little bit of a problem at first. People believed that _I _was a biot! That was funny. Commander Macmillan insisted on making sure that I was human, poking and prodding me.

AH: That must have been awkward.

NJ: Yes. (Laughs).

AH: Now, Nicole, I have always wondered what it felt like to escape from the prison in New Eden?

NJ: Well, I mostly felt vulnerable and in danger. But at the same time, I felt joy and a small amount of thrill. I mean, I was going to see Richard again! And I would be free from Nakamura's grasp.

AH: I'm sure it is what everyone would love to do. Did you know Nakamura personally?

NJ: No, I didn't know him well. He was on the Nina, the ship that transported the convicts to Rama. He basically ran the place. Then, he was the judge at my trial, but that's all. He was a tyrant.

AH: Yes, I agree. Now, everyone knows that you hid out under Max Puckett's chicken coop for several weeks. Did you feel comfortable?

NJ: Well, considering it was Max, yes I felt comfortable.

AH: How could this be though? How were you totally sure that the Garcia biots wouldn't find you and arrest Max for treason?

NJ: I just had a feeling that we would be safe. Maybe Omeh, my great-grandfather helped me believe.

AH: Well that may be disbelieved by many. We'll be back after this quick break.

AH: Hey, we're back on "Mind Talk", I'm Anthony Hart. Now Nicole, when you arrived at the "Grand Hotel", as Max Puckett calls it, what was it like for you?

NJ: It was like… I was a movie star. I mean, people were coming up to me saying things like, "Oh, I think you're terrific," or "Oh, I'm so glad you're here. That was a great feeling. But still, some did no welcome me as others did.

AH: I myself welcome you with all the gratitude possible. When people learned that you had many Octospider friends, they were shocked. 

NJ: I understand. I mean, after Ellie, my youngest daughter, had been kidnapped, as her husband had put it, I was horrified. But then I learned that they had only wanted to establish communication with us. And they had cured Eponine, one of our closest and dearest friends, of RV-41, or retrovirus forty-one. At first, Ellie's husband, Robert Turner, who was a great cardiologist, was furious that a species that had kidnapped his wife had discovered a cure for a virus that he had researched for four years. And they had only researched for a week! Anyway, we lived with the octos for a year and made friends. Robert, however, couldn't live with them. We had named them things like Archie, Dr. Blue, Hercules and Penny.

AH: Interesting. Now Nicole, I'm going to ask you about Richard and you third daughter, Katie. Would you be unhappy if I went on?

NJ: Not at all.

AH: As many know Richard Wakefield was an extraordinary man. But tales of his abusive, but intelligent father and his cheating ex-wife, Sarah Tydings, has been heard many times. He even attacked his wife and her sexual partner, Hugh Sinclair. As you have mentioned before, he once told you that he was slightly insane even when you two first met, and eventually, did go insane. Did you ever ask him about these events?

NJ: No, but he told me anyway, after I told him about my affair with Prince Henry XI of England. I was shocked. I had always thought that he was a perfectly sane person before. He took me by surprise when he told me.

AH: Speaking of Richard reminds me of Katie Wakefield. I know that she was a wild and corrupted young lady, but I never knew why.

NJ: She was amazingly intelligent, and very talented, but she wasted her life on drugs, sex, greed and gambling. She had never been around Earthlings before, aside from Michael O'Toole, Richard and I. And she had never experienced adolescence because she was frozen for so many years. She was fourteen, physically and mentally, when she left the Node and she came out twenty-four years old physically, but she stayed a child in her own mind.

AH: Okay, I have two more questions for you Nicole. First of all, if you could go back in time and save anyone from their fates, who would you?

NJ: This is a very interesting question. It is tempting to say that I would go back and save Richard from being executed by Nakamura, or even go back and turn down the job offer from the ISA and stay with Genevieve and my father. But I would have to say that I would go back, find out what went wrong with Katie and fix it, so she wouldn't have committed suicide, or killed Nakamura.

AH: And my final question, what do you consider to be your greatest achievement in life?

NJ: I would have to say that being all that I have been is my greatest achievement. I have been and Olympic gold-medallist, a mother, a doctor, judge, governor, renegade, friend, and even a diplomat! I have done more with my life than I ever expected.

AH: Nicole, it has been a tremendous honour. I was glad to speak with you.

NJ: The pleasure was mine.

AH: Next week, I'll be talking to the Eagle, a representative of the Ramans from the Node. Until then, let your mind talk for itself. This is Anthony Hart reporting on "Mind Talk". Goodnight!

~End~


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